Abyss
by LeFarFadet
Summary: Kyouko is trapped in darkness, facing a choice she cannot make: abyss or love? Chances are Chiori will unknowingly push her to her destiny. Will she find her way to the sunlight? (alternate version of the cliff scene, written shortly after chap. 197)
1. Nebula

Disclaimer: "Skip Beat!" and its characters are the property of Yoshiki Nakamura.

Chapter 1: Nebula

The dark sky was filled with ominous clouds. Everywhere she looked they were all she could see, like alien vessels that had come to conquer and destroy the earth. Maybe they'd start with her? Powerful, engulfing the whole of the cosmos around her, they seemed to be growing by the minute, confining her in her stagnant fears.

She knew the stars had to be there, somewhere, but she couldn't see them. There was not the tiniest hint of light and she wondered if the sun would ever rise again… Night had invaded her emotions and seemed to have become never-ending.

The wind was blowing in her hair and clothes. She wished for it to grow stronger. She wished she could become a butterfly and get carried by that wind. If only she could spread wings, then she would fly away, ride the invisible threads of this wind that would become her ally, feel it lift her from the ground and up to the infinity, behind those scary clouds, to where she could see the galaxy…

She wanted to fly away from the only two options that she had to choose from.

Beneath her was this menacing, deep, dark hole. She didn't need to contemplate over it, knowing perfectly what it meant: Down there was death. The cold and lonely feeling of giving up everything she had struggled to become.

She would go back to nothingness. She would never hurt again. Maybe dying would be easier than being born; after all, both were pretty much the same thing, only backwards.

It wasn't that scary: She would just go back to being plain and simple. She would drop her ambition and walk on an easier path. Her make-up would fade; her hair would grow back to their natural color and she would get back in the right steps, the ones she was supposed to walk in, wearing an appropriate kimono. There, she knew how things worked, there, she'd be safe.

At least, it was much less scary than that other option, obviously…

_"Come now, missy."_

For before her…

_"Give up. You'll be totally better off showing everything that you're hiding in your breast, you know."_

…a fate even worse than death awaited her.

* * *

No one really knew if the studio ever closed at all. There was pretty much always some shooting taking place, or office workers at their desks, even late in the night. The shooting of Box R wasn't the last one to finish that evening, but the building was almost empty when the lead actors were dismissed. Most of the lights were out by the time a young actress waved goodbye to the rest of the cast and stayed alone, standing next to one of the imposing potted plants that decorated the entrance hall.

The other actors had not noticed anything, but she recognized the chilling sensation: Swirls of tortured vapors emanated from the plant.

"You know, I saw you hide back here just now," she began in a carefree tone. "You've been spacing out a whole lot, lately." She paused. "Why don't you just tell me what your problem is?"

_So, is this related to love or what?_ she thought calmly. _How do I get her to spit it out?_

The bush remained silent.

"What are you doing back here, Kyouko-san?" Annoyance seeped through her voice. "Didn't you have somewhere to be tonight?" When she still got no answer, she folded her arms and began to tap her foot impatiently. " Fine. Have it your way. Here's what I'm gonna do: I'll stay right here until you at least come out." She paused. _Hum... it's not working. _"And if I'm late for my mom's birthday dinner, the blame is on you!" _That should do it._

There was a short silence.

"I don't wanna die!" a voice blurted out nervously from behind the thick bush.

"Die? Who's talking about dying?" the girl asked worriedly, dropping her arms to her sides. "Have you gotten yourself in a dangerous position?"

"Yeah, well… Hmm… I guess not," the plant mumbled, "it's not really like that…" It shrieked, "It's not what you think, but… It's probably even worse!" It continued in a dark voice as it moved slightly.

"Please, just come out! Aren't we LoveMe comrades? I'm sure you'll feel better if you let it all out. Just talk to me!"

"I'm not telling you anything, Chiori-san, so won't you please stop asking?"

Chiori ventured a defeated look behind the plant and saw two bright red dots shining right back at her.

"Okay!" she said, taking a step back "If I don't ask anything, will you come out, and go to your next job?" she moved carefully, and lifted her hands, as if she was trying to tame a wild animal.

"Maybe…" the flaming dots inside the bush replied weakly. "But you have to promise, even on set, you'll stop asking." The lights started to decline, slowly dissipating the gloomy aura around them. "I can't take any more of your questions." A vaguely human shape started to come out from behind the bush. "I know perfectly well I'm not exactly myself lately, but I… I'll deal with it, somehow…"

"It's okay." _This has to be about love. _It was the only question she'd asked more than once.

"I just can't tell anyone." The shape kept muttering, "I haven't even talked to Moko-san about it…"

"I understand" Chiori replied, watching as her friend's face appeared before her. She was beyond pale, and her eyes were blank. "There, there, come on…"

The number one LoveMe member was known for her sudden changes of mood, and when you spent time with her you stopped being surprised by the strange way things around her seemed to be affected by her temper, even so she'd never seen her act so peculiar, and more importantly, never for so long!

"Don't you worry about it…" she added over her friend's ongoing muttering.

Kyouko had been strained for almost a week now; she was always isolating herself in narrow spaces in between takes, mumbling incoherent words. What was worse she even let her Natsu slip several times to an unknown, different character. This girl was not Nastu, but she was certainly not Kyouko either. At first Chiori had thought it would pass, but the bags under her friend's eyes seemed to grow heavier every day. Of course she'd asked what was wrong!

"Let's go, Kyouko-san, it's gonna be okay."

The ghost that looked like Kyouko came to her and let her pat her shoulder softly. Chiori felt powerless. She wanted to help, but she didn't know where to begin, she didn't understand any of the things she was vaguely hearing from her friend's daily lamentations. She knew of only one person that she'd seen her overreact this badly about, and he was definitely not her brother.

_Her brother_. It didn't make any sense, but "brother" had been the most recurrent word in her mumblings for the past week. Apparently she was nervous but determined about helping _her brother_… It just didn't make sense, _wasn't she an only child?_

"You don't have to say anything; I promise I won't ask anymore."

They began walking toward the exit. The hollow blur she was holding progressively turned back into Kyouko with every step they made.

"I'm sorry Kyouko-san. I didn't realize my questioning was pressuring you."

She still heard incoherent murmur, of which she could hardly make out confusing words. On top of the whole brother and support delirium, came something about a cliff and a box; other things about vengeance, and a vow to a baka... Nope. Definitely no indications to be found in that nonsense.

"I'm just worried, you know."_This has to be about love_, she thought again.

Chiori knew of Kyouko's issue with the feeling: Whenever it was brought up, she'd always burst out in the weirdest way. Essentially, she was hermetic to anything love related; her resentment was big enough to have been the origin for the creation of the LoveMe section. What other reason could she have for being so upset? She was pretty sure she knew who the source of this dilemma could be, too… But, Kyouko never mentioned him once.

This didn't make any sense, if her problem was her reluctance to reconcile with the feeling of romantic love, how did it relate to any hidden family member she might have?

She waited till they passed the glass doors before she spoke again.

"Kyouko-san, you have to stop worrying people like that."

They stopped. Kyouko nodded shyly.

"It's okay since you can still act Natsu, the others don't pay attention to how you are outside of the stage." She could do this; she could help her even if she didn't quite understand. "But with me it's not the same, you see." She spoke firmly, trying to convey strength in her words "I know you, Kyouko-san." She just had to remind her that she was there to support her. "I care about you." No matter what, she needed to encourage her. _But…_ "You know," _wa____s she even listening?_ "Since you're my senpai."

At that word Kyouko flickered. She raised her head, slowly.

"Senpai?" She froze.

_Hah,_ Chiori thought, _now that's something I can work with._

"Yes, Kyouko-san?"

Her face went from wan gray to crimson red.

"How did you know?" she continued in a high pitched voice.

"How did I….? What?"

So, this really had to do with her senpai. She was right, then, it was about love. _But, this is nothing new, is it? _She'd already suspected something like that.

"Just don't tell him, okay? No, anybody! You must promise not to tell anybody, I beg you!" She was gripping her shirt, and staring at an undefined spot behind her.

"Huh… O-Okay…" she said, unsure of what she was promising.

"It would be terrible if anybody knew…"

"Alright, I promise. I won't tell anybody."

With that, Kyouko's face brightened, she stilled for a second and looked up, instantly back to normal.

"I'm glad you understand!" She looked somewhat relieved. "You were right," she said lightly, "talking to you really did make this easier!"

_What in the world is she talking about? _She seemed much better all of a sudden. _Does she think she told me something just now? _Well, if it helped...

"Sure, anytime." _Let's just go with it._

"Thank you so much Chiori san!" Kyouko said happily.

"No problem" Chiori answered, still bemused by the surrealistic turn of the conversation. "Just come to me next time you feel the need to talk to yourself."

"I will!"

"I promise your secret" _whatever it is_ "is safe with me…"

"It'd better be." Kyouko answered somberly, reverting to the ghost of herself for a second. "But I trust you!" And just like that, she started smiling again. "Who would have thought," she went on pensively. "Confessing my feelings really lifted a weight from my shoulders!" She bowed and started to leave, still absentmindedly talking to herself about adjustments she would have to make, before she'd face her brother.

Chiori was left speechless on the sidewalk, as she watched her friend leave, and tried to make sense of this whole scene.

_Confessing her feelings? Was I right? _The more she heard, the less she understood.

_Face her brother? Was I wrong? _She needed to know the whole picture, if she wanted to be of any use.

_Guess I'll need to talk to Tsuruga Ren about this… _Obviously, he was involved in this thing. She had just promised not to tell him, but… not to tell him about what anyway?_ Since I don't even know, I can't say, can I? _He was the only one who had any chance of knowing more than Kotonami Kanae… _Just make sure not to mention anything about her brother, and it should be fine._

"Oh, and, Chiori-san!" Kyouko turned around from the other side of the street, "Enjoy the dinner with your mom!" She smiled and walked away.

_Huh? My… Ah, _she chuckled,_ that's right._

Her mother's birthday was months away, actually.

* * *

Author's note : This is a story I wrote directly in English (except for a part in the last chapter) this time (I thought translating to French would be easier than the other way around, but it wasn't exactly), partly to compensate for something that was missing in my other story, _Jealous._

A quote from a _Simpsons_' episode (24x12) and the cliff metaphor from chap. 197 were my inspiration. Since chapter 198 added to the metaphor and White Day is supposed to happen soon in the manga (which I'd totally forgotten about when I wrote it), just think of it as an alternative for impatient readers ;)


	2. Blue Moon

Disclaimer: "Skip Beat!" and its characters are the property of Yoshiki Nakamura.

Chapter 2 : Blue Moon

A loud clicking sound resonated through the cold night.

_"Yes, I do!"_

She balled her fists and faced the men in front of her.

_"I love him, I do. Is that what you want to hear?"_ She dropped her head. _"I love him more than anything; I love him more than I've ever loved anyone… More than I ever__thought possible__…__"_ she cried, looking up. _"Are you happy now? What do you think you can do about it?"_

Blazing tears were flowing on her cheeks. She knew this was insane, but her feet were moving on their own, and the pit was getting further and further behind her, as she advanced in the dark.

_" I've never known a love like this… Do you even have any idea, how fearsome this love is?"_

She looked at the sky and realized the clouds were moving. She closed her eyes and breathed in the air.

* * *

The girl in the pink uniform was wandering around, aimlessly, in the halls of LME. She had finished her LoveMe tasks for the day and was about to go get changed in the locker room, but she was in no hurry to do so. Her mind was in a dark place and she couldn't seem to find her way. Luckily, her dangerous mission was not to resume for a few days, and she was happy that she could go to school the next morning and the following days.

School was pretty much the only occupation that kind of took her mind off of things.

Since she had given in to her feelings things had only gotten worse. At first she'd thought it would be easier, Chiori was a good friend, one that she could trust with such sensitive information.

_And she didn't even blame me nor make fun of me for my bold stupidity, _she thought. But now, it was too late…

Why had she chosen that road? Why had she not jumped in the abyss? It was going to end up the same anyway, since she'd sworn that she would go back to being a nakai if this was ever to happen.

She had managed to act Setsuka decently, but at the cost of her sanity. What was she thinking, really? Her interpretation of Setsu was only getting better and better now that she…

_Stupid love, _she grouched to herself.

She knew it was only a matter of time now, before her blatant feelings became obvious to others as well, and she had to keep to her word. Why did she have to make that foolish oath to that stupid Shou anyway? Didn't she already know, at the time, that it was impossible not to fall for…

She leaped. Him.

_What's he doing here?_

She panicked and hid behind a coffee machine.

_Damn it!_ She tried to merge with the wall behind her._I haven't had time to prepare myself! How is he always there when I least __expect__ to see him? _It was her mistake for thinking she had no reason to run into him, just because the Heel siblings act was on break.

_Of course, he works here, you dummy._ She gathered up her courage and took a peek in his direction, which only made things worse. The tall, handsome actor she had been with just the night before was looking as astonishing as always. How could he be so sexy, by just standing there?

_Sexy? No, no, no, this is wrong, this is… _Who was she kidding? _Yeah… Sexy… Hot… And gorgeous… _She shook her head. _Come on, Kyouko, get yourself together. _This was no time to fantasize! _There are things in this world that are very, very difficult to forget_, she realized.

She kept her position, trying to see who he was talking to. This was not his manager. This was a girl.

She growled. _Who's that girl and what does she want with him?_ She looked closer as they started walking, and her face blanched... _No way!_

There was no mistaking this blasted color and the lame logo on the clothing… _Chiori-san?! _She couldn't believe her eyes. _But, you promised!_ Her fellow LoveMe member was talking to Japan's number one star, and obviously getting his full attention. _No way…. No way, no way no way, you wouldn't do that, would you? _Why had she been so naive as to trust anyone?! She thought they were on the same team; they shared the same curse that had been placed on them by a capricious chameleon wizard.

_No, that's not right._ Chiori had not been imposed the pink spell, she had chosen this fate for herself! Something was most certainly suspicious about the girl! And she had trusted her!

She drew back as they approached her hideout. Her antenna deployed instantly, and small demons started sprawling in the thick anger that was coming her way. _Oh no…_ She froze. _He's mad!_ She crawled under a bench.

"… really worried about her."

"I understand. This is very disturbing in fact."

"I thought so…"

"You were right to come to me about this; I think it would be…"

That was all she could hear, but she had sensed enough: He was assuredly fuming.

She watched discretely as the two silhouettes disappeared towards the exit. _Thank God, they didn't see me. _She started moving again. _Did they?_ She looked around and tried to calm down.

She couldn't understand why Chiori would break her promise. She said she wouldn't tell anyone, and the first thing she did, just a couple days later, was to go and reveal everything to the very person who should never find out.

_Why? Why would she do that?_ Did she want to ruin her relationship with her senpai? Did she want him for herself? _Of course!_ She knew he would repudiate her the minute he found out! _You… you… You vicious little snake! _She spotted the door to the LoveMe room._You're worse __than Sho Fuwa,_ she thought angrily. _I trusted you with my most guarded secret, and this is how you repay my friendship? Hah! _

She rushed to the door that flew open. _I won't let you have it your way! I won't let you __have Tsuruga-s…_

She stopped in her tracks. Who was she to even think that? She had no right to want to monopolize his attention? Chiori-san could be his kohai. She felt a pinch in her chest. She'd never realized until now, how much she needed to be special to him.

Well, all that mattered right now was that he'd forgive her.

_What am I gonna do?_ She wondered as she entered the room. She had to apologize. _Forget Chiori for now_, she would deal with her later.

Whatever her intentions were was no priority, what concerned her more was…

She fell to the floor as she remembered his reaction. _He seemed so upset._ She didn't remember ever seeing him that mad, even the times she had lied to him, or when Shou was involved. _He said it was disturbing…_ Had he been so disgusted by the truth? She knew there was no way he'd share the same feelings as her, she was not that deluded, but to emit such wrath… _Did he feel insulted by it?_

_This kind of things must have happen to him perpetually._

Maybe… Maybe he was disappointed in her? Maybe he expected better from her as an actress? Because he thought she was influenced by Setsu's feelings, and she wasn't able to differentiate between the act and real life? Maybe that was it…

Well, it was kind of true. She had been utterly defeated by her character's feelings, but… _This was not from the act… __I_f she was totally honest with herself, she had to admit those feelings had been threatening her long before the dangerous mission had even started. Maybe if she made that fact clear to him he would forgive her and treat her like any other admirer of his?

_Maybe he'll try to console me, tell me it's nothing and I will eventually meet someone else?_ He was the kind of person who would minimize the situation, try to reassure her and let her go easy, wasn't he?

_Meet someone else_... How could she? _Someone other than him… _He brought love to a whole different level; anyone else was insipid compared to him.

She stood up. _It's so unfair! _Didn't he realize he was partly responsible for this mess? If he wasn't so… Well, all of those amazing things that he was, she would not have ended up so miserable! She would have moved forward and reached her goal, without ever considering returning to that pit of death.

Her phone started to ring. She looked at the caller ID and hurriedly picked up:

"Yashiro-san, It's good that you… Eh? What? He did? Oh my god, Yashiro-san, I'm so sorry! I'm afraid I might be at fault… Well, no, I just… Okay, I'm going there right now!"

She left the building only minutes later, determined to fix whatever harm she was responsible for. _He's so serious about work, something's wrong… _She thought. _Is he feeling sick? _For him to cancel a meeting and hang up on his manager, he must have been really displeased. _He's so disgusted by me he doesn't even want to go to work?_ Yashiro had sounded really alarmed, on the phone. _He's probably gonna ask that I get removed from the dangerous mission. _Her already heavy heart sunk a little more at the thought. She couldn't stand the idea of being despised by him. _Maybe…Maybe Chiori-san didn't betray me after all?_ She hoped. _Maybe she talked about something else?_But, right after she'd admitted her feelings in front of her, what else could she have told him, that'd make him so mad?

Kyouko was terribly scared at that moment and she was in pain. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she had to see him, make sure he was alright and would not turn from her. He had to know, at least, that this was not about their roles. It was really about them.

_The truth will make it all better_, she thought as she rode her bike to his place, _it has to_.

* * *

_"A love like that…"_ she contemplated the feelings that were getting out of the box, like fireflies _"It's a love that will conquer anything."_ She raised her eyes.

Up in the sky, stars slowly started to light up. The wind seemed to revolve around her, it gave her strength she never knew she had.

_" This love is stronger than you. You can't even imagine what this love can do."_

The stars were becoming more numerous by the minute, and right there, she understood: What was shining in the sky were not stars, as she'd first thought… No… Those were the lights that came from the box in her heart.

_"I'll never stop loving him"_ she admitted painfully, and she looked down.

The wind instantly stopped blowing.

The men were finally quiet. They'd gotten what they wanted from her. She had given up, and it was worse than she'd imagined. Now that she'd accepted it, she knew there was no going back. She was condemned to endure the knowledge that she'd lost. She was doomed to this eternal night.

She didn't notice the magnificent full moon that was beginning to come out of the fog.

* * *

Author's note : I realize I'd probably get more reviews if I made you wait for the rest of the story, but I don't really care, so since the story is done, here's all of it! Next chapter is the last. Hope you'll like it!


	3. Sunrise

Disclaimer: "Skip Beat!" and its characters are the property of Yoshiki Nakamura.

Chapter 3 : Sunrise

"Mogami-san?" he seemed to hesitate. "It's always a pleasure."

_He knows,_ she thought fearfully. _He knows and he hates me. _

Despite his gentlemanly smile, the aura that surrounded him as he opened the door didn't leave room for much doubt. _What a fool!_ Why had she confided in someone other than Kanae? Why had she confided in anyone at all! Shouldn't it have been obvious that any woman would repeat everything the first chance they got? He was her most important person and she was about to lose him, just because she hadn't been able to hide her feelings from someone she didn't realize was a jealous rival.

"Hum… Good evening, Tsuruga-san, I'm sorry for coming here unannounced…"

He motioned for her to come in.

"What brings you here?"

"Huh… mm… I came… to… apologize" she answered, looking down, and hurriedly coming in. _There's no going back now, __sh_e thought.

"There's really no need, Mogami-san, you didn't do anything wrong." He said, closing the door.

"But…" she didn't know where to start. "I can feel you're mad at me…" she added, turning her back on him, embarrassed.

He let out a deep sigh.

"I'm a little bit vexed, but I'm not angry at you." He said, and she turned back to face him.

"But… Chiori-san…" she started, not understanding.

"Chiori-san did what she thought was best and I agree with her decision to inform me." He interrupted harshly. "How long did you intend to hide this from me?"

He was positively furious, even if he was trying not to let it show. Kyouko swallowed hard, paralyzed by her shame.

"I… I know I shouldn't have… But, I was so ashamed. And I feared the way you'd react…"

His face softened, as he took a step in her direction.

"There's no reason for you to be ashamed, you know, it's only natural…"

Natural? That was too much. Was he just telling her it was normal? Of course, he was used to it; _so it does happen to him every day!_ It felt like his words were squeezing her heart.

"I'd just… Have preferred to hear it from you, that's all." He continued, in a dejected tone "I thought we were friends, you should trust me enough to talk about these kinds of things." he finished sounding truly hurt.

She looked down. She was getting more uncomfortable by the minute. Was it not hard enough to have fallen for someone like him, with no hope of this love ever being returned? Was it not a big enough torture to have him so close to her without being allowed to dream of him? Did he really have to blame her for not telling him about it? Did he really have to pour salt on her wound, reminding her that they were only friends?

"If I may… Actually, Tsuruga-san, it was quite the opposite." What, did he think it was easy? Just because he had girls confessing to him all the time, did he not realize how hard this was, especially for her? "You were the last person I'd have wanted to talk about this to… I didn't even tell Moko-san…"

He looked slightly surprised.

"You told Chiori-san, whom you've only worked with for a couple of months, and you didn't tell your best friend?"

She was at loss for words. She was very embarrassed and mostly terribly sad.

"And why would I be the last person you'd want to tell this to?" He ground his teeth. "Is it someone I know?"

She looked up, puzzled.

"…Who?" she asked carefully.

"Well, the person Chiori-san told me about. The one she suspects you fell in love with." His jaw clenched. "Is it Fuwa?" The dark aura was back.

_Huh?_ The room suddenly started to spin around her. _The person I…? But… That's… _Chiori hadn't said anything! _Of course, she really is a good friend!_ They really were linked by the pink curse! _But then…_ Why was he so mad? And why had Chiori gone to him with some tale about some other unknown person? She tensed.

"What exactly did Chiori-san tell you?"

"Well… Shouldn't you know?" He raised an eyebrow. "What was it that you told her, exactly?"

Kyouko was baffled.

She had revealed her feelings to the men in her vision, but to Chiori… What had she actually told Chiori? Nothing really! At least nothing compromising and she only realized that now… _Stupid Kyouko!_ All this was nothing but a misunderstanding, her secret was safe! Or was it?

Just now, her surprise had transpired… She felt her whole body become cold. How was she going to get out of this? It was too late, she had betrayed herself. He would know if she tried to lie her way out of it… _Well, it's worth the try…_

"Hah, ha ha" she tried to sound casual, "Well, yeah, that's exactly what I told Chiori-san. I told her I was…." She stopped from the look he was giving her. The harm was done. He had realized she was hiding something.

"Why did you feel the need to apologize to me, Mogami-san?" his intonation was demanding an honest reply, he wouldn't let go of her before she provided a satisfactory one.

"Humm… I came to apologize, because I should have known it's okay to talk to you about this, instead I put my trust in someone else?" She could feel her cheeks flushing, her heart was beating fast and every hair on her body seemed to bristle. "I'm sorry. I know I can trust you completely, of course… Ha ha, it's silly actually; I just didn't want to bother you with such insignificant…"

"So, it's Fuwa, is that it?" he cut her words sharply.

How had he come to that conclusion? How had the singer fought his way in the conversation? _Stupid Shou_… Would things go back to normal if she let him believe she'd fallen for that prick all over again?

"No." She answered, emotionlessly. "No, he's got nothing to do with any of this". She dropped her gaze to her shoes, staring as if they were currently holding the key to her salvation.

They remained silent for what seemed like hours before she started to speak again.

"I… I just… This should never have happened. I really didn't say anything to Chiori-san, but somehow, I thought she'd understood…" She didn't move an inch, "… that…" It was too late, now. "I thought she'd understood, and she told you everything… that… that I…" She had prepared for this, anyway, when she'd thought Chiori betrayed her trust. "I thought you were mad because she told you…" She would just get out of his life and leave him be. "I thought you knew I…" She risked a glance at him, and saw him still standing steadily in front of her "I fell in love, that's the truth." She breathed in deeply before continuing in a whisper, "I fell in love with you." Her eyes went back to her feet as she said a little louder, "You're the one I fell in love with." _Might as well get this over with._ She would heal… right? "I'm in love with you Tsuruga-san." she finally confessed, looking at him in anguish.

* * *

When Ren had opened the door, he hadn't known what to do.

A LoveMe girl had come to him earlier in the day for advice about Kyouko, asking him what exactly her problem with love was, and if he thought it possible that she'd learned to love again. Apparently, she thought there was someone.

He hadn't thought she was ready. Was he wrong? The symptoms her friend had described were usually associated with one precise person…

He was presently feeling very edgy, to the point that he'd asked his manager to move a meeting to the following day. He needed to be alone.

And there, she showed up at his doorstep, apologizing. _What is it that you want from me?_

He did his best to contain his consuming jealousy; he didn't want to press her with questions. He needed to know only one thing. _Is it about him again?_ There seemed to be more to it than just learning to love again. What was she hiding? She ended up trying to excuse herself for something that she refused to clarify. _Is there a manual for this__girl?_

It wasn't about Fuwa, she said, so he waited. He stood there and looked at her. His heart broke when she admitted having fallen in love, but then... He heard it.

And then, it registered.

"I'm in love with you Tsuruga-san."

There. She made him unable to move again. What was this feeling? _Relief? Fear? _He'd imagined hundreds of time the way he would confess, he feared her rejection, he'd never imagined…

_She's in love with me?_ He didn't have time to analyze this fact that was beyond his wildest dreams, she started moving already. Before he said anything, she turned around with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry" she whispered and rushed for the door.

He was faster. _Oh no, you don't get to act as if you were rejected!_ He caught her wrist before she reached the handle.

"I'm really sorry!" she insisted, with her head down. "I…"

"I'm not," he said as he moved close to her. He put his arms on both sides of her against the door. "You really should have talked to me about this from the start, Kyouko-san."

She swung between his arms and lifted her face with a bewildered look. He closed his eyes and he gently pressed his lips on hers, until she steadied. He moved away from her face to look in her glittering eyes.

"Only I can help." he said, finally letting all his contained love run free.

He placed a hand on her neck and brought her to him, as he leaned in to kiss her again. She was stiff at first, but she let him nibble her cherished lips, that she soon began to move against his own. He felt her hands on his back and when he ended the kiss, he embraced her strongly.

"I'm in love with you Mogami-san," he whispered in her ear.

She tightened the hold of her arms around him and they didn't say anything for a couple of minutes. When he pulled away, the most adorable image he'd ever seen was facing him. Her back against the door, her head slightly tilted to the side; though her eyes were agitated, her face was wearing the lightest of blushes, and the most delicate smile.

"Okay," she said.

He couldn't help but kiss her again.

Did she really expect he'd trample on her feelings? She must have shared the same fears he had… _Did she fear I would despise her?_ Did she think he would get mad, laugh at her, or try to let her go easy? _It must have cost her so much_, he thought as he held her close. _How can I do the same for her?_

"There's one more thing I'd like to confess, Kyouko-chan. Will you come and sit inside?"

* * *

The daybreak sky was bright, thousands of stars twinkled in the fading moonlight.

The grass beneath her feet was green and freshly wet with dew. Birds were singing in the sycamore tree and a floral scent embalmed the air. A soft breeze caressed her face. She had conquered the feeling and she welcomed it now. Her choice was made: There was no choice, it was obvious.

Behind her was the sea, wild and strong. She didn't need to look back, for she knew exactly what was there: Back there was her old life. The waves chanted the memory of a long forgotten battle. The sound of those ancient upheavals, echoing from the other end of the universe, had become comforting to her.

She had overcome.

Before her was her prince, standing with his arms open towards her, waiting for her. His hair shone like the bright morning, his eyes had become the only constellation in her sky.

_"You're here..."_ She smiled.

_"I wouldn't have missed it for the world"._

She ran to him in the rosy dawn. The moon was about to set and the sun to rise.

* * *

_Love is our only defense against the abyss in this meaningless universe._(Lisa Simpson)

* * *

Author's note : This chapter's main scene was written in French quite a long time ago, then I had the idea to to build a story around it, because in my other story someone commented that they wanted to see Kyouko confess, but I hadn't planed it this way. It originally had a very mature ending, but I cut it off (sorry :/) thinking it didn't match the character development at this point (since this is supposed to take place immediately after manga time), at all.

When Lisa said that sentence in the Simpsons' episode a couple of weeks ago, I just thought it was perfect, and I wrote this story. Thanks for reading it!

Also thanks to Orietta Rose for agreeing to be my Beta again. She's the one who makes it look like I'm good with English (like changing all of my "worst" to "worse", for instance, ha ha ha)!


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